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Subject:

Kent Co. Birds, 11/22

From:

Bill Hubick

Reply-To:

Bill Hubick

Date:

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:05:05 -0800

Hi Everyone,

I joined Jim Brighton, Ron Gutberlet, Frode Jacobsen, and Mikey Lutmerding for excellent dawn to dusk birding in Kent Co. Our highlights included seven flyby AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERs, continuing ROSS'S and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, and GOLDEN EAGLE. Here is the full list for Eastern Neck and abridged lists for the rest of the day.

Eastern Neck NWR

Canada Goose--980
Tundra Swan--31
American Black Duck--21
Mallard--4
Northern Shoveler--6; flyovers at dawn
Northern Pintail--2; flyovers at dawn
Greater Scaup--3; close birds readily identified by extent of white in wing
Lesser Scaup--see scaup total
Greater/Lesser Scaup--1850; several very large flocks passed that allowed counting by 10s, then 50s. Conservative minimum.
Bufflehead--32
Common Goldeneye--1 hen
Ruddy Duck--116
Red-throated Loon--1
Common Loon--2
Double-crested Cormorant--15
Great Blue Heron--2
Black Vulture--5
Turkey Vulture--36
Bald Eagle--7
Northern Harrier--2
Sharp-shinned Hawk--1
Red-shouldered Hawk--1
Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern)--2
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER--7; * Very tail end of expected window. Passed directly overhead in a single flock; relatively robust, long-winged shorebirds identified as Pluvialis plovers as they approached, permitting limited views of upperparts, short plover bills, and white axillaries. Did not vocalize. We did not rule out other golden-plovers, but this is of certainly the default species at the end of its normal window. My first in November.
Ring-billed Gull--6
Herring Gull (American)--40
Great Black-backed Gull--2
Mourning Dove--2
Great Horned Owl--1
Red-bellied Woodpecker--4
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker--1; high-flying presumed migrant soon after dawn
Downy Woodpecker--3
Hairy Woodpecker--2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)--3
Blue Jay--11
American Crow--9
crow sp.--26
Carolina Chickadee--24
Tufted Titmouse--4
White-breasted Nuthatch--3
Brown-headed Nuthatch--5; two along Boxes Point Trail; three while walking along the main road
Brown Creeper--1
Carolina Wren--15
Winter Wren--3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet--2
Eastern Bluebird--17
Hermit Thrush--3
American Robin--160
Northern Mockingbird--5
European Starling--500
American Pipit--2
Cedar Waxwing--5
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)--7
COMMON YELLOWTHROAT--1 female near entrance to Boxes Point Trail
Eastern Towhee--8
Chipping Sparrow--1
Field Sparrow--3
Fox Sparrow (Red)--6; one did some weak singing
Song Sparrow--31
Swamp Sparrow--17
White-throated Sparrow--38
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)--37
Northern Cardinal--13
Red-winged Blackbird--13000; impressive flocks leaving roosts at dawn. Counted by 10s to 100s to 1000s and then conservatively estimated thousands. Minimum estimate.
Eastern Meadowlark--8; one flyby flock soon after dawn. Flight photos.
Common Grackle--750; one large flock after dawn, many small groups, and then a long swath of them later in the morning.
Brown-headed Cowbird--20
House Finch--3
American Goldfinch--19
Non-avian: Monarch (1), Orange Sulfur (5).

Chestertown WWTP

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE--1; presumably continuing. Roosting on the south side of the ponds. I raced Mikey to see who could find it first and the winner was Ron... 
Canada Goose--1400
Mallard--12
Northern Shoveler--231
Ring-necked Duck--11
Bufflehead--1
Ruddy Duck--98
Black Vulture--1
Turkey Vulture--15
Bald Eagle--1
Sharp-shinned Hawk--1
Cooper's Hawk--1
Red-shouldered Hawk--1; quality sky-scanning by Frode
Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern)--1
Killdeer--3
Bonaparte's Gull--4
Ring-billed Gull--49
Horned Lark--1
Kevin Graff--1

Great Oak Pond

Snow Goose--720
Ross's Goose--1
Canada Goose--450
Mallard--2
Ring-necked Duck--2
Lesser Scaup--1
Black Vulture--10
Turkey Vulture--30
Bald Eagle--2
GOLDEN EAGLE--1; great spot by Frode as it soared just north of the pond. Adult or near adult bird with rich brown color overall, no white showing in wings or body, white bases of tail feathers forming a tail band, slight dihedral in flight.
Ring-billed Gull--50
Herring Gull (American)--1 juvenile

Fish Hatchery Road

* Spent some time working with the abundant Ring-billed Gulls in hopes of observing the California Gull found by Jim Stasz and Hans Holbrook.

Bald Eagle--6
Sharp-shinned Hawk--1
Cooper's Hawk--1; made a low pass and flushed all of the gulls. Large enough bird that we felt compelled to scrutinize it for goshawk
Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern)--6; Frode spotted a very cool leucistic/albino Red-tailed soaring amidst the other raptors
Ring-billed Gull--2015
Horned Lark--1
American Pipit--4

Sassafras River NRMA

Turkey Vulture--9
Bald Eagle--1
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Golden-crowned Kinglet--1
Song Sparrow--4
Swamp Sparrow--2
White-throated Sparrow--11
White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern)--2; adult and immature in the hedgerow by the parking lot. Did some weak singing.
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)--5

Cecil Co. viewed from Sassafras NRMA

Mute Swan--1; not an easy county bird in Cecil Co., at least I don't know any reliable places for them. Only my second in the county. Nice spot by Ron.
Tundra Swan--5
Ring-billed Gull--3

Route 298 / Fairlee Road

Returned in the late afternoon to check this area for gull flocks.

Probable Greater White-fronted Goose x Canada Goose hybrids--3; Jim Brighton found three of the best candidates we've seen for GWFG x CANG hybrids. Plumage was very close to GWFG with limited Canada features worked in. In addition to mixed characters, they appeared small and not pot-bellied.
Canada Goose--300
Ring-billed Gull--1200
Dan Small--1

Patch O'Pines, Queen Annes Co.

* Mikey and I ended the day with a short owling circuit in Queen Anne's and Caroline Counties. 

Great Horned Owl--1 (QA)
Northern Saw-whet Owl--1 (QA)

Good birding!

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, MD

http://www.billhubick.com